8 August 26, 2013

A rundown of the morning’s hottest headlines, from the editors of Grid.

1 Pritzkers back on the hunt

The Pritzker Organization, an investing vehicle run by Tom Pritzker, is buying steel-mill services outfit TMS International for $1 billion. It’s the first big deal since Pritzker finished breaking up his family’s fortune. [WSJ]

2 Advice for homebuyers: think fast

The best word to describe the Chicago housing market: fast. There aren’t a lot of properties on the market, so when homes come up for sale, buyers must pounce. Grid offers expert advice for five types of home buyers trying to navigate tight inventories and a competitive market. [Grid]

3 Seamless transition?

It’s only one data point, but when a New York restaurant decided to drop Seamless, the online take-out service now owned by Chicago-based GrubHub, its Saturday-night orders fell by 16 percent — but profits only fell by 4 percent. [BusinessWeek]

4 Swell for Mell

If you had to guess what profession former Ald. Richard Mell would choose after retiring, what would you guess? Yeah, it’s lobbying. [CST]

5 Not very neighborly

Indiana continues its push to lure Illinois businesses with its lower taxes and its politics that quaintly less than completely dysfunctional. The latest tactic: advertising in Bears programs. [Times of Northwest Indiana]

6 Trumped again

The 87-year-old woman who claimed Donald Trump ripped her off when he sold her a Trump Tower condo has lost in court again. A federal judge refused to grant her a new trial, saying her case was “riddled with unsupported accusations.” [WSJ]

7 Sox bet on college cord-cutters

The White Sox’s venture-investing arm has invested in CampusInsiders.com, which streams college sports live online, betting that millennials will consume most of the live sports on the internet. [Crain’s]

8 Gridiron gorilla

Meanwhile, here’s a fascinating look at how ESPN has achieved total domination of college football, from scheduling to rankings to coaches’ salaries. [NYT]